Hawaii, one of 20 states suing the Trump administration over the sharing of Medicaid beneficiary data with the Department of Homeland Security, told a federal court it has no records showing data leaks, enrollment declines, or other concrete harms stemming from the policy, according to filings cited by America First Legal.
Hawaii is among 20 states that have sued the Trump administration over a federal policy allowing Medicaid beneficiary data to be shared with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The lawsuit alleges that the data-sharing arrangement endangers Medicaid enrollees and could increase the risk of deportation for noncitizens.
According to court filings described by The Daily Wire, America First Legal, a conservative legal group, served records demands on Hawaii seeking documents that would show specific harms tied to the policy. The group requested evidence of data leaks or improper disclosures, examples of Medicaid information reaching immigration enforcement officials, increased hospital costs or uncompensated care, drops in enrollment or reluctance from noncitizens to seek coverage, added administrative burdens, patient deaths or adverse outcomes, and any interference with the state’s ability to administer its Medicaid program.
Filings cited by The Daily Wire indicate that Hawaii responded it did not have records responsive to those requests. In a declaration quoted by the outlet, the state reported: “As far as Med-QUEST is aware, CMS has not disclosed Medicaid PII data for Hawai‘i Medicaid enrollees to date.”
Hawaii’s Medicaid program, Med-QUEST, is administered by the state Department of Human Services. Court filings referenced by The Daily Wire state that Med-QUEST provides health coverage to roughly 400,000 low‑income Hawaii residents and that the state administers federally funded emergency Medicaid benefits that pay for emergency care for individuals regardless of immigration status. Like other states, Hawaii regularly transfers protected health information about its Medicaid enrollees to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), including data submitted to the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T‑MSIS).
Despite this longstanding data-sharing with CMS, Hawaii and other plaintiff states argue in their lawsuit that the Trump administration’s more recent arrangement giving DHS access to Medicaid data poses distinct risks, particularly for noncitizen enrollees. Federal documents and reporting by the Associated Press and other outlets have detailed how CMS, under pressure from Trump appointees, transferred personal data — including names, addresses and Social Security numbers — for certain immigrant Medicaid enrollees to DHS for immigration enforcement purposes.
America First Legal contends that Hawaii’s lack of documentary evidence of concrete harms means the state cannot show the “concrete and particularized injury” required to maintain the lawsuit. The group has advanced similar standing arguments in prior litigation involving California and Washington over other Trump-era executive orders, including those addressing gender‑related federal policy and citizenship protections, according to The Daily Wire.
America First Legal Vice President Dan Epstein argued that the absence of documented harm undermines Hawaii’s position in the case. “Without actual harm, Hawaii lacks standing to sue,” he said in a statement quoted by The Daily Wire. “The American people deserve better than having the federal courts clogged with political theater that obstructs the policies of a popularly elected President.”
